Tacoma vs. Ridgeline Review

I'm sure this is posted somewhere else in the 3 gen forum but I thought it was a thorough and basically unbiased review of the Tacoma and Ridgeline. If it has been previously posted just state that in a post and I will remove the thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mkvSVFsCfc

 

The kid hit the nail on the head with the hammer when he slipped up calling the Ridgeline a car a few times. I feel like the Ridgeline is really almost in another class seperate from the Tacoma and other mid sized trucks. It's almost like comparing a Nissan Murano to a Dodge Journey. Sure they are both in the same size class and seat 7, but ones a performance minded CUV and the other is a mini van replacement in both cost and seating. The Ridgeline is an CUV with a box and the Tacoma is a traditional truck. They each appeal to a different driver much like the comparison I just made.

 

Two seconds in and my inner nerd is already raging!

"... rivalry is as well known as iPhone vs Android"

One is a phone, the other is an operating system! If you're going to make analogies, do them right, noob!

End rant. Probably.

Edit: he's doing so good, yet throws in things like "let's see which truck sounds more truckish than the other one" LOL wut?

Edit 2: finished the video. Nice review! Sounds pretty much spot on.

 

Great review ,but im i the only one to know the "ect" button .....

 

Don't compare my truck to a ridgeline, that's absurd.

 

I'm 100% Tacoma. My 3rd Gen is my 4th one.

But, you've got to admit, it'd be nice to have some of those features such as power seats, the one touch flip up back seats, speakers in the bed, and that large storage you can use as a cooler. Maybe I'm biased because I do a lot of tailgating at concerts and games, but those features are pretty cool. Just my opinion.

Don't crucify me, go Taco!

 

When I was truck shopping this past summer I stopped a Honda dealer to check out the Ridgeline. I looked it over and considered how well it addressed the various requirements I had in mind.

It miserably failed the "must not look or feel like a minivan" requirement.

 

I'm worried. Not

 

I'd looked into those as they do sound like pretty neat features.

The box shares space with the spare tire. Sucks if you get a flat while you're hauling a load; sales guy said they recommend putting the spare in the back seat before loading up. Yeah. No thank you.

From what it looked like, a stop on a downhill grade (or a quick stop) could potentially flood the spare area as well. That'd be a pain in the azz to clean up.

Bed speakers seem pretty cool. Only available on the top of the line trim though (unless it's changed), and from a functionality standpoint it seems to me that a good bluetooth boombox would get the job just as well and provide better flexibility.

 

I know mostly everyone on here will rag on the Ridgeline and claim its for wussies who get wet over Siennas...but you can't deny how nice some of the features are in this thing. The interior is well above anything the Taco offers. I went from a 4Runner Limited to a TRD Sport when I bought my truck. I originally went in looking for a Limited Taco and expecting features like the Ridgeline offers. Ended up with the Sport w/ Prem Tech & JBL which is basically the same as a Limited minus the leather... I could not believe that even in the Limited trim you dont get such basic creature comforts as power seats! Also wasn't a fan of the brown leather. I was basically looking for a shrunken down version of an F150 Platinum...Call me soft but I love those fancy features. If you took the interior of the Ridgeline and combined it with the exterior looks of the Tacoma, I'd be the first in line. I just could not get over the butt ugly face of the current Ridgeline (and Pilot for that matter). I still think the First Gen Pilot was the best looking model by far. If you're gonna market it as a tough truck that just happens to have a reinforced minivan frame, you could fool a lot more people if you didnt just throw the bastardized front end of a Pilot/Odyssey on the thing. But what do i know?

 

To be perfectly honest, a Ridgeline is not really a "truck" in that it does not have a frame and is built on a unibody.

That said, for the typical urban dweller who makes the occasional Home Depot run, tows the popup camper, makes the daily commute, does tailgating, and will NEVER go offroad, the Ridgeline is perfect.

Better ride, features, MPG, and handling in a quiet and comfortable daily driver....that is just too much like a minivan with the rear roof chopped off.

I would never buy one

 

What do you see at a quick glance:

 

Interesting

 

To me it's more like an El Camino, not a car and not really a truck. Great for the family man that needs to haul mulch occasionally, at least it's a step up from a mini van.

 

A vehicle that a soccer mom is about to exit...

 

Well to be fair they did compare it to a Limited Tacoma...

 

i.e. never back it into a parking spot at the grocery store, you'll never find it again.

 

Honestly, we're all saying the same thing. We all agree, the Ridgeline is not a truck, and the Tacoma is much more capable, and better looking. But, in a perfect world, there are some "creature comfort" features on the Ridgeline which we all would've liked to see on our trucks - especially since they're in the same price range. I think the annoying part is the features we would've liked to see, such as power seats, is something which can be done so easily, so it's a little odd something like that was not included.

With that said, it would not surprise me one bit if the 2018 Tacoma had power seats - it's like the power sliding rear window, you couldn't have done that in 2016? It's not a new feature, you've been doing it in the 4Runner, Tundra, and Seqouia for years.

But, on the other hand, we're not in the engineering room at Toyota, so I'm sure there's a reason why something like a power window was left out of the 2016 model, or why the Tacoma doesn't have power seats. Again, just my opinion.

 

Road and Track 0-60 times: Ridgeline 6.6. Tacoma Limited 6.8. When you have established bias, like this truck reviewer, everything feels better. Best if he would've done more homework on what he was testing before "assuming" differences.

 

Were those numbers from a direct comparison? Everywhere else it shows the Ridgeline to be about a full second faster than Tacoma.

Here is a direct comparison between all the trucks in this class.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2016/08/whats-the-best-midsize-pickup-for-2016.html

Good read for those who say Tacoma is way more capable. The only thing Tacoma truly does better is off-road. Everything else Honda does better, including a huge difference in how much it can haul in the bed. I realize there is a 1400lb towing difference in Tacoma's favor, but if you're truly towing 6000 lbs with your truck often, midsize isn't the right category anyways.

It really does look like an SUV and I do think they should have done more to differentiate it from the Pilot, but you can't say it's not capable when compared to rest of midsize offerings.